The clocks have gone back, and for most of us that means driving home in the dark for the next few months. It is also when a lot of people notice for the first time that their headlights are not what they used to be. The road ahead looks dimmer, the beam looks blotchy, and from the outside the lenses have gone cloudy or yellow. The good news is that in most cases nothing is wrong with the bulbs, and you do not need new headlights. You need the lenses restored.

Why Headlights Turn Cloudy and Yellow

Almost every modern headlight lens is made of polycarbonate, a tough plastic that holds up to rocks and road debris far better than glass would. From the factory it has a thin, clear UV coating on the outside. Over years of sun, heat, rain, and car washes, that coating breaks down, and the plastic underneath starts to oxidize. That oxidation is the haze and yellowing you see, and it sits right on the surface of the lens.

Cars that live outside get it worst, which is most cars in our area. It usually shows up first on the top of the lens, where the sun hits hardest, and spreads from there.

It Is Not Just Looks

A hazy lens scatters the light instead of letting it through. Less of it reaches the road where you need it, and more of it spreads out as glare. You see less of the road ahead, and you notice it most on dark, rainy nights, which we get plenty of this time of year.

It also ages the whole car. You can have clean, glossy paint, and yellowed headlights will still make the vehicle look years older than it is. Restoring them is one of the most noticeable changes you can make to the front of a car.

What Our Headlight Restoration Involves

Our Headlight Restoration ($150) removes the damaged layer and puts protection back on. It is a multi-step process:

• Clean and tape off. We clean the lenses and tape off the paint and trim around them so nothing gets scuffed.
• Sand. We wet sand the lens through progressively finer grits to remove the oxidized plastic and the failed factory coating.
• Polish. Polishing takes out the sanding marks and brings the lens back to clear.
• Seal. Finally, we seal the lens so the fresh plastic is not left bare to the sun.

That last step is the one that matters most, and it is the one most do-it-yourself kits skip or do poorly. A lens that is polished but not sealed can look great for a few weeks and then go cloudy again quickly.

Restore or Replace?

Replacement headlight assemblies can easily run several hundred dollars per side, and more on newer vehicles. If your lenses are just cloudy or yellow, restoration gets you clear headlights for a fraction of that.

There are a few cases where restoration is not the answer, and we will tell you if yours is one of them. If there is moisture or fog on the inside of the lens, the seal on the housing has failed, and no amount of work on the outside will fix that. The same goes for cracked lenses or a burned-out bulb. When we come out, we take a look first and give you an honest answer.

Keeping Them Clear

Sun is what breaks headlights down, so parking in a garage or in the shade when you can helps the most. Wash the lenses along with the rest of the car, and avoid harsh chemicals on them.

We Come to You

Like all of our services, headlight restoration happens right in your driveway in Chesterfield, Midlothian, Richmond, or anywhere in the surrounding area. It also pairs well with an exterior detail if you want the rest of the car to match. If your headlights are not what they used to be, send us a photo and we will let you know what we can do.